Exploring wine in and around San Francisco.

Category Archives: Sauv. blanc

I’ve been dying to tell you about a mind-blowing food and wine pairing from the Kabaj wine dinner at Oakland’s À Côté restaurant. Imagine a huge cut of porchetta with plenty of flavor (i.e., fat) and a layer of perfectly cooked, crispy skin. (Drooling yet?). Most of you are probably thinking, “Oh, I bet he needed a big red wine to wash down that bad boy.” But you’d be wrong. Jeff Berlin, the restaurant’s wine director, paired this with the 2008 Kabaj Rebula, a white wine from Slovenia that has developed some serious body and tannins from extended skin contact. A stroke of genius — the wine really livened up the dish, made my head spin, and helped fuel a lively night out in the East Bay.

After my À Côté experience, I was so excited by the Kabaj wines that I dragged a friend of mine out on Friday to another Kabaj tasting at Biondivino. And man, the wines were singing even without a big serving of pork! [BTW – I’ll be saying more about Biondivino in a future write up on my favorite wine shops in SF, but I really encourage you to check this place out. What a gem of a store — beautifully appointed, great service, and –oh yeah– killer wine selection].

Tomo (L) and Jean-Michel (R) - Kabaj Winery

I also had a chance to catch up with Kabaj’s winemaker Jean-Michel Morel, who had spent the day in Sonoma visiting Wind Gap and The NPA. Jean-Michel had effusive praise for the wines, in particular the Pinot Gris being made by both these wineries, and the Ribolla Gialla from Ryme Cellars (which Jean-Michel “re-branded” as Rebula). In addition, Jean-Michel was struck by the creative spirit and sense of community he felt during his short time in Sonoma. Kudos to Blue Danube for putting together this tour, and to Pax Mahle, Kevin Kelley, and their respective teams at Wind Gap and The NPA for being such great hosts. Y’all done California proud!

Now on to this week’s events.

[Photo credit – the pictures above were taken by Eric Danch of Blue Danube Wines and are used here with his permission. Also in the interest of disclosure, I was invited to the dinner by Blue Danube Wines.]

I never turn down an opportunity to attend a winemaker tasting pulled together by Shelly Lindgren, wine director at SPQR and A16. This week, SPQR is hosting Fulvio Bressan of Friuli’s Azienda Agricola Bressan. Four wines being offered by the taste, glass, or carafe – 2006 Verduzzo, 2004 Schioppettino, 1999 Pignolo, and 2003 Pinot Noir. Time to explore some new varietals!

The always insightful and entertaining Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard will be at The Secret Wine Shop in SoMa for an oyster and wine pairing event, featuring 6 different types of oysters and 6 different wines (including thee from Bonny Doon: 2008 Le Cigare Blanc, 2010, Vin Gris de Cigare, and the 2009 Ca’ del Solo Estate Albariño). Bonus: all wines will be for sale at the event, along with signed copies of Randall’s book, Been Doon So Long. There are only 35 tickets for this event, so don’t dawdle.

There are a number of young, talented winemakers in California, and at least one — Chris Brocway — resides in the Tenderloin. Enjoy three wines from Chris’s Broc Cellars (including his new 2009 skin contact Roussanne) along with a three-course dinner at Local Mission Eatery this Wednesday. Full menu here.

Cory Cartwright and Guilhaume Gerard, the mad geniuses behind import company Selection Massale, have built up an enticing portfolio of small production wines and are taking the SF wine market by storm. I’ve turned multiple friends into serious acid junkies by introducing them to a couple different Selection Massale wines: the appropriately named “Mineral +” and the Vouvray from Frantz Saumon (one was consumed at Heart Wine Bar, the other at Terroir). On Thursday, you can taste through Cory & Guilhaume’s wines and meet these young importers.

[BTW – here’s a little more about Selection Massale from the company’s website: “Selection Massale sells wines we truly believe in. We do not sell wines based on points, scores, blog hype or anything else besides what Guilhaume and Cory like. We sell wines that we drink from producers we stand behind and nothing else. These are wines made from smaller independent winemakers, many of whom haven’t been represented in the states before. These are wines that go with food, lighter wines made for drinking, not showing off. We will work to sell you these wines at the best possible price we can. These are things we can promise you.” Well said.]

UPDATE – Here’s the line up. If you like your Chinon dirty (oh, and I do!) then’ you’ll dig the Lenoir Les Roches!

There’s something special about single vineyard wines. Something kind of romantic about the idea of a wine coming from one small parcel of land, and that speaks to the character of that unique piece of earth. On June 4th, 30 different winemakers and grower partners (including Williams Selyem, Merry Edwards, and Siduri) will be presenting their single vineyard wine. Plenty to nosh on too.